Duo with £1m to burn leave island guessing- Library of Mu
- Library of Mu record:
- Title: Duo with £1m to burn leave island guessing
- Date: 04 October, 1994
- Journal: The Times
- Author: Gillian Bowditch
- Type of resource: News items
- Status: text
- No. views: 3714
- Description: Reaction on Jura to the cash burning.
Duo with £1m to burn leave island guessing
By Gillian Bowditch (04 October, 1994, The Times)
Islanders on Jura are used to rich southern visitors with money to burn, but
the activities of two former pop stars who allegedly burnt £1m in cash in
the dead of night have left many on the island bewlidered, incredulous and
angry.
Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, formerly of the pop group KLF and the men
behind the K Foundation's alternative Turner prize, are said to have gone
with two witnesses to the Hebridean island, where between 12.45am and 2.45am
on August 23 they built a fire and burnt 20,000 £50 notes.
The first the islanders knew was when Alex Riley Smith, a local landowner,
found £1,500 in £50 notes on the beach while fishing five days later. Some
had been charred. Mr Riley Smith called the local constabulary from Islay.
Sergeant Lachlan Maclean checked the money with both banks on Islay and with
Customs and Excise, who pronounced it genuine. "I telephoned Mr Drummond in
London and told him the money had been found. I asked him if it was his. He
said he would get in touch with his partner, Mr Cauty. So far he has not
telephoned back".
Sergeant Maclean says he will not be contacting Mr Drummond again. "He's had
hs chance. No crime has been committed. The money will go to the finder on
October 28 if it is not claimed before then."
Mr Cauty and Mr Drummond, with Jim Reid, a freelance writer, and Alan
Goodrick, their tour manager, stayed at the Jura Hotel for one night on
August 22. Fiona Walton, who owns the hotel, says they gave no hint about
why they were there. The duo has previously made a video film of a 60ft-high
burning wicker man being carried from the sea.
Mr Reid has spoken of feeling "guilty" and then "bored" during the two hours
it took to burn. He is adamant the money was real and that he was with Mr
Drummond and Mr Cauty when it was collected from a security firm in Kent.
Comments
There are 2 comments for this record
You can leave a comment below.
Posted by Guest on 2005-08-10 03:53:53
They`re justified and they`re ancient, and there`s no way you can stop them. Wait until 2017.
Posted by Guest on 2005-08-10 03:55:46
er 2018... bad math. Fnord.
